Overruling Planning Permission

It's claimed ministers are regularly overruling councils when applicants take planning permission appeals to them.

Figures revealed by the Scottish Conservatives show 77 of 145 appeals have been granted so far this year. That compares to a 57% appeal success rate in the Kingdom up to 16th July 2015.

In 1999, the statistics compiled by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre show only 32% of planning appeals were granted nationally.
 
Among the decisions appealed to ministers include windfarms, mobile phone masts and housing developments.
 
The Scottish Conservatives claim the figures are proof of the SNP’s 'centralising agenda'.
 
In 2014, 56% of planning decisions brought to the Scottish Government were overturned, a 13% jump from the previous year.
 
Scottish Conservative MSP Liz Smith said: “These figures show quite simply that the SNP does not trust local people and local councils to make decisions for themselves.
 
“It would rather ministers sitting in Edinburgh offices dictated to rural Scotland what it should and should not permit in towns, villages and communities.
 
“When decisions made by councils are taken above their heads, they are now being overruled more than 50 per cent of the time, and it’s getting worse.
 
“The message this sends out is, however unpopular or contentious the planning application, don’t worry if the councils says no, we’ll sort it out for you at Scottish Government level.
 
“But people want local authorities to have more control on these issues, not less.
 
“It’s completely unacceptable for the SNP to pursue this centralising mentality.
 
“It’s no wonder rural Scotland is becoming increasingly annoyed at what it sees as a central belt bias, and it’s time for the Scottish Government to stop hoovering up powers and hand back control to local communities.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Scottish Ministers are committed to seeing the right developments in the right places.” 
 
“Reporters from the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) make final decisions independently of Ministers in the vast majority of cases.  The law requires these decisions to be made in accordance with the local development plan, which contains policies that guide decisions on all planning applications and appeals in that area, unless there are good reasons for departure from the plan. In all cases the reporter will consider the submissions made by all parties and make the decision on the planning merits of the case.”